Talk on Sustainable Fashion and Natural Indigo

Santanu Das is a committed conceptual artist from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad that has long been influenced by the testimony of the Indian textile heritage, culture and skills. He is the founder of Maku Textiles – Maku, which means "weaving shuttle" in Bengali.

Maku is a frank slow fibre movement that uses only hand spun and hand woven cloth in natural Indigo, the designs of which are realised in collaboration with artisans on their looms. The use of a single colour is a conscious and deliberate decision of the brand, showcasing the richness and versatility of the colour - from the palest powder blue to black. But for Maku, indigo extends beyond its colour as a weapon against consumerism by limiting choice.

Santanu has also taken steps towards designing a system to develop a better living environment panning from recycling waste (e.g. the rests of fabric are transformed into hand made paper for his tags) to distribution of wealth to the weaker section of the society.

In this talk Santanu will share his journey with Maku as a model for sustainable and ethical fashion.

After Santanu's talk, our local sustainable natural dyers from Zürich, Josefina Eliggi and Luzius Schnellman from Anna&Juan, will speak about their project and join Santanu for a final discussion with the audience.